Sanguine Hearts
by TheMonkshood
Summary: A mix between Harvest Moon 64 and Back To Nature, time period is set just after world war I. Jack inherits his grandfather's farm and meets a striking older lady when he does, however, soon he comes to learn that the lady lives with her alcoholic husband and life is not so easy for her and her daughter. So he vows to do what he can to be a good neighbor, and tries to help them.


Author's notes:

This is sort of a cross between Harvest Moon back To Nature, and Harvest Moon 64 its set in the town of mineral town (totally going to have a different name by the way), but the characters mostly come from Harvest moon 64 with their respective professions, the time period has been set back to the early 1900's as well, just after World War I because that to me is a much more suitable time for the two games given the dress of most of the characters and the seemingly outdated technology, also it gives a bit more back story for the main character. This story is a bit dark and will probably get a lot darker before it gets better, it entails the lives of Jack the Farmer and Sasha who lives with her alcoholic and abusive husband Gotz. I fell in love with the harvest moon franchise because of harvest moon 64 as I had a lot to relate to the bachelorette Karen, this is my way of honoring that part in my life. This will be mainly a Jack x Sasha fic but it will include Karen as well. I'm just going to rate this as M because I do plan to write lemons. Reviews are greatly appreciated especially on names, which I am currently experimenting with.

~Sanguine Hearts~

~Rough Times~

Sasha looked everywhere for Karen, her and her father had gotten into an argument again which ended up with her storming out of their home as usual, but she wanted things to change. She knew that the vineyard wasn't doing to good, but she didn't want Karen to blame her father because of it. After all these years Sasha was still hopeful that everything would turn out okay. As she walked along the path leading from her home absentmindedly she ran into someone else and knocked herself over causing her rear end to hurt. The woman opened her eyes to look up at the person she had run into and was quite surprised to see it was someone she had never seen before a young man with blue overalls and a white shirt stood in front of her, his brown hair swept back and swayed a bit in the breeze and more over he was looking back at her with his hazel eyes locking with her own emerald green.

"I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." he said outstretching his right hand to help her up as his other hand rubbed the back of his head nervously. She stared at his hand, not knowing what to do at first before she reached out with her own and he took her hand in his and helped her back up. "Are you alright?" the young man asked her with a small concerned smile on his face "Yes...T-thank y-you..." she stuttered looking nervously at the ground. Why was he being so kind to her? The other villagers were more than happy to turn a blind eye to her or her problems, and she found herself quite unaccustomed to the feeling of being helped. "E-excuse me, I have to get going." Sasha said brushing herself off before she hurried away from the young man. Heading in the direction of the Hot Springs where she hoped her daughter might be.

~Putting The Pieces Back Together~

Jack Jackson woke up the next morning, he had moved into his grandfather's farm which his mother had wanted nothing to do with, he thought it would do him some good, calm his nerves. Everything was so different to how he had spent the last four years of his life, he didn't have to wake up every day in a trench and worry about getting shot or watching his friends die, not that he had any left alive to begin with. The war had simply taken everything from him, his father and his brothers all died on the frontline, for the glory of their motherland all of those he had gone to school with had joined them. And his mother had died of typhoid just days before he got back home. Yes he moved here to forget his past, living back in the city brought with it to many painful memories, if he had someone, anyone back there that he knew or needed him he would have stayed but no he had no one, and spent a long year wandering around the country aimlessly looking for a reason to live on. He made his breakfast, which he was still not used to having any food at all least of all it tasting good when he did, but he was quite proud of his ability to cook which had been nonexistent before the war. He had bought a new set of clothes when he had come to the village, but kept his old uniform in the chest beneath his bed, as a memento of those he fought with and by when he wore it.

"I wonder if Mr. Douglas or Ms. Ann know who that lady yesterday was." Jack thought to himself reminiscing their encounter the previous day "I didn't even get her name..." he lamented after having his breakfast however he set out on his little farm, getting rid of any weeds he found would be the first thing he needed to do, then he'd have to talk to Douglas about borrowing or even buying a horse. He certainly had enough money saved up from his military service for one, and with automobiles and locomotives so common they were becoming a bit cheaper as well. 'Thank god there's a creek nearby so I can irrigate the fields' Jack thought to himself 'it'd be ridiculous if I had to water them all by hand.' Some farmers had even gone so far as to start using fertilizers and pesticides, which made very little difference in their yield anyways and often made the fruit and vegetables taste bland and flavorless he doubted that it would ever become mainstream, and if it did, he didn't think he'd want to live in that sort of world, with bland and tasteless food.

After he finished getting rid of all of the monstrous weeds on his farm with his scythe, Jack decided to head over to Douglas' place to see about that horse, taking the path to the right from his house and down the road he was fortunate to have such a nearby neighbor as their lots spread out in the opposite direction from each other.

"Morning Mr. Jackson." the short red-haired rancher called out to him when he noticed his new neighbor "What can I do for you?" Jack explained his interest in buying a horse, and Douglas told him he'd have to wait until tomorrow until they could gather them all up in the barn for him to take a look at. "Alright that seems fair, oh one more thing, I ran into this lady yesterday, she was wearing something of a white blouse and a blue apron with gold linings on it under which she wore a white long sleeved shirt, and she had brown hair tied back into a bun with green eyes, do you know anyone like that around here?" Jack asked him "Oh, you must have met Mrs. Kolman, she lives down the road going towards your place, she inherited the vineyard passed on from her mother Eve. I wouldn't go there though if I were you." the rancher explained "Why not?" Jack asked "Sorry, its not right of me to talk about folk behind their backs, or to meddle in family affairs, if you go there you'll see for yourself what I mean though." Douglas said

The farmer figured he had nothing better to do so he thanked the rancher for his help promising to be back tomorrow and walked back down the road past his place until he came across vines hanging from the top of wires their green leaves swaying in the wind and the beams of sunlight freckling on the ground beneath them. It wasn't long before he saw the house which Mrs. Kolman must of lived in. Out stepped a beautiful young woman, not the lady he had met before but she looked so much like her. She had the same green eyes but her long brown hair wasn't tied into a bun but flowed freely from her head featuring blonde bangs in the front, she wore a purple vest over a sleeveless white shirt as well as what appeared to be a cross between lederhosen and blue jeans that extended to just below her knees, which was quite unusual for a girl... or anyone for that matter. She ran past Jack not even taking note of him and another person exited from the house a fat burly man with unkempt hair and a big beard, swayed down the entrance towards the home after her before falling flat on his face and not getting back up. Mrs. Kolman the woman he had meant yesterday followed closely behind him and by the time things had settled down she was sitting on her knees crying with her hands held over her face.

A voice inside Jack's head told him he should leave, that he shouldn't interfere, that this was none of his business. But it was that same voice that had told him he should volunteer to go to war, and he didn't trust that voice. He walked up to Sasha whom looked so much more frail and fragile than she had the day before. "Have I come at a bad time?" Jack asked when he was directly in front of the house and next to the women. Sasha startled nearly jumped out of her skin looked up to the young man she had met yesterday, immediately she wiped her eyes and tried to stifle her tears. "No-o I... please come in." she said not knowing what else to say. "What about him?" Jack asked pointing to the direction of the fallen man. "Should I bring him inside too?" he asked "I don't think you could lift him..." Sasha said but to her surprise the young man must have had some muscle under his sleeves because he hoisted the big guy over his back, albeit after great difficulty. The man on Jack's back felt as heavy as a cow, not that he'd ever tried to lift one before, he slowly made his way into the house while Sasha held the door open and laid the man onto her couch. The inside of her home was quite cool in comparison to the heat outside, as it was quite hot for a spring day, but it was also quite forlorn and held only the essentials of living. "Thank you, please would you allow me to get you some coffee?" the older lady asked. "Well I would hate to impose..." Jack began thinking to turn her down but the women simply shook her head saying that it wasn't anything at all.

She quickly brewed a batch of coffee poured Jack a cup and set herself and him down at the dining table. "I'm terribly sorry you had to see all of that." Sasha said "I saw you yesterday didn't I? I'm so sorry for being a burden on you like this."

"That's okay really, its the least I could do for my new neighbor." Jack beamed a smile at her, which again caught her off guard, she was unused to smiles it seemed like forever since she last saw one in her household as she nearly couldn't remember the last time there wasn't any fighting or yelling, or plates or bottles being smashed. "So you took over that old man's farm then?" she asked pausing for a moment. "I suppose we should get to know each other then?" Even though she said that nearly everyone she 'knew' in the village was a complete stranger, except for Lillia. "The names Mr. Jackson, but you can call me Jack if you want." he said simply "Sasha, Sasha Kolman." she said looking down at the floor. "So who is he?" Jack asked pointing to the fat man passed out on the couch. "He's my husband, Gotz." Sasha explained "Is he usually like this?" he asked frowning and Sasha could only nod her head in acknowledgment. "And the young lady I passed earlier was she your daughter?" Jack asked "Her name is Karen..." Sasha said as her eyes began to widen. "I-I should go look for her." she began as she stood from her chair but Jack grabbed her hand as she was beginning to leave. "I can help you if you want." he offered but Sasha turned around and said coldly "No." Before walking out of the door in the direction which the young girl had ran off earlier.

The next day Jack had purchased a horse from Mr. Douglas and promptly proceeded to name her Theresa, before taking her back saddling her and plowing the fields. He had to ask the rancher where he could get some seeds from since he hadn't gotten the chance to ask Sasha the day before which was his excuse for going there. "There's a general store in town, that'd be the place you'd want to go to see about buying seeds. Ms. Sheridan runs the store, she's a sweet lady so don't you be saying anything mean to her, otherwise you just might attract the ire of the town." Douglas had warned him. As Jack rode into the village on top of his horse two children came running out of an inn as he passed it to sing a song at him. "Yankee doodle went to town riding on a pony, stuck a noodle in his hat and called it macaroni!" the laughed and as they did a young lady wearing a blue dress that matched her blue eyes along with a white apron and had short brown hair stood in front of the inn and scolded them and apologized for their behavior. But Jack was nearly on the verge of tears while she was speaking with him "Are you alright?" she asked and he replied "Yes, its just... nice... to see something like that." "What those two? You should come to the inn more often then, trust me you'll see plenty of 'that'" she responded "By the way I don't think I've seen you before, might I have your name? And yours?" he asked in return "Elli." she responded "Its getting pretty dark out, do you have some place to stay?" she asked him to which he explained that he lived on the 'old man's farm' as they kindly put it. The same process went with Ms. Sheridan the lady who ran the general store and Douglas was not lying when he said she was kind, her smile made him almost feel at ease, as if the entire war had never happened and as if everything would turn out ot be okay. Jack thanked her for opening up her store just so he could buy some seeds and apologized for coming at such a late hour. "Well if you really wanted to thank me I think a kiss from such a strong and young handsome man would be more than enough. Oh and please just call me Lillia, there's no need to be so formal" Lillia teased him and giggled when he followed through with it, kissing her quickly on the cheek. "You could stay at my house for supper, then we could get to know each other a little better." she offered "Well I really should be getting back I mean, I'd hate to eat all of your food." Jack laughed

"No its really okay, ever since my husband died I sometimes make more than I should still thinking I have to feed the both of us, I was just finishing cooking when you knocked actually." Feeling it would be rude to turn her down Jack accepted her offer and he even told her about some of the time he spent in the military leaving out some of the more detailed parts, like the war. "You're lucky to have come back alive, so many young men lost their lives..." Lillia said "So what about you?" Jack asked changing the subject "Oh there's really not much to tell about me, my father was a farmer as was my mother but I sold the farm when they got to old and opened up this general store, it was your grandfather actually who bought it. Oh if you can I think you should head over to the people who own the vineyard next to your place, Sasha I'm sure would enjoy your company." Lillia said but to her surprise Jack told her that he'd already been there as well as what had transpired and that he felt like he was just being a nuisance. "Oh don't be so absurd, Sasha just isn't used to people acting so friendly towards her that's all. I'd say give it till tomorrow and you'll see she means well, its just she always stays home unless she's chasing after her daughter when she runs off. She's doesn't want to leave her daughter alone with her husband that's all. I'm sure you can understand. So unless they leave the house together, Sasha is always there waiting for her to come back. Now when you meet her daughter Karen there's someone whose good side is really hard to get on, not even Kai their hired hand has been able to really get to know her." Lillia chided as they finished supper and she collected their dishes to wash them. Jack thanked her for the food before saying goodnight and heading back outside where his horse was, the night was by now well under way and he only had the light of the moon to guide him back home, which was more than enough.

~Our Daily Bread~

Jack awoke to someone rattling on his door using the door knocker. "One moment!" he said hastily putting on his shirt and his overalls before stumbling towards the door. He opened it only to see Karen the young daughter of the vineyard owner, wearing the same outfit of blue shorts and the purple vest she'd been wearing the other day, holding a basket full of freshly baked bread that must have been made just the day before. "I don't know why mother would waste such a thing on you, but here she baked you some bread not that we can afford to spare anything now of all times." The girl bitterly said as she shoved the basket into Jack's arms. Jack moved to stop the young girl to ask her what she meant but she ran off before he had the chance leaving him holding the source of his guilt. He would not let the gift go unchecked though, he would be sure to thank Sasha for this and to repay her in kind. But first he had to till his fields now that he had a horse, and that would probably take all day, and the next day. Regardless he couldn't neglect his duties if he hoped at all to make this run down farm successful he'd have to put some work into it, and soon, the time for planting was almost over. Jack quit for the day as the sun started to dive below the horizon, sweat poured from him and his horse Theresa flared her nostrils in exhaustion as well, even though they had both taken plenty of breaks especially during the height of the day when it was warmest. He put Theresa in her choral giving her a nice treat of oats to thank her for a job well done on the first day, and to encourage her to be such a hard worker. Then he went into his home and took a nice relaxing warm bath getting all of the dirt and grime off his body but his clothes were still dirty and they were the only set he had other than his military uniform, not wanting to go anywhere in dirty clothes if he could help it. So he dug out his old uniform and dawned it, he looked in the mirror and grimaced at how awful it made him look, to his eyes there was nothing but the hollow shell of a disgusting man alas he had to relent, it was the only attire he had and he'd have to learn to live with it. After he was dressed and groomed he put on his military cap, and set out for Sasha's house to thank her for the bread, their houses weren't that far apart, and they were definitely in ear shot distance from each other.

"Hello again Mrs. Kolman, am I intruding?" Jack asked standing in the front of her doorway. "Oh, Mr. Jackson! Of course you aren't intruding what brings you here at this time of night?" Sasha asked "My apologies ma'am its the only time I could find to come here, been plowing my fields most of the day getting ready to plant seeds and all. Its just I had to come over to at least thank you for the bread you made for me the other day, it was the best I've ever tasted!" Jack stated honestly. Sasha looked shocked by what he said as her mouth stood slightly ajar "You liked it? Really? But Gotz... I mean I'm glad you liked it won't you please come in?" she asked holding the door open for him as he entered the home Jack saw in the dimly lit house a small smile on Sasha's face barely noticeable but it was there. It was the first time he'd seen her smile and it made him smile a bit to. "Are you sure your husband won't mind?" Jack asked and like that the short lived smile she had died and it turned to a frown, she placed her hand on her left arm and looked down at the floor. "I'm afraid I don't think my husband will be back any time soon or my daughter, my husband usually goes drinking at the inn and sometimes he doesn't even return till morning, and Karen usually stays at the beach until late at night. I was just cooking myself some supper if you'd like to eat with me." Sasha offered her eyes glancing from the floor to him and then back to the floor. "I'd really hate to impose on you like this..." Jack began but the thought of her cooking did make his mouth water. "Can I?" he asked "Of course! How could I turn down someone who has been working hard all day?" she said giving him a small smile and immediately began to set the table for two, before pouring them both a bowl of warm soup. "Your husband is really lucky to have a wife who can cook so good!" Jack said as they ate their meal "Gotz doesn't seem to like it, and Karen never says anything, do... do you really like it?" she asked fidgeting with her spoon. "You're not being serious are you? You cook just as well as my mother did! If those two don't like your cooking maybe they should try a bit of trench food." He chuckled a bit at the last part. "Were you um... at least, would you mind me asking you something personal?" Sasha asked him "What is it?" Jack asked "Well uh, its just, were you... in the war?" She asked her question causing the farmer's face to go grim "I'm sorry I didn't-" but she was cut off "No it's okay, its not like there's anything bad that can come from talking of it, yeah I was in the war. I suppose my uniform gave me away but I didn't want to wear my other set of clothes after being in the field all day." Jack said before asking "What do you ask for?" "Oh there's no reason really, it just seemed like something to ask, please forget I ever said anything about it." Sasha said seeming like she wanted to ask him about something more but he didn't press the issue. "I really wish I had someone like you to cook for me." Jack said "So you're not married then? And here I thought for sure someone as handsome as you would be." Sasha said complimenting him causing him to blush a bit. The two talked more as they ate supper together and Sasha made several hints at how her daughter was actually a sweet girl if you got to know her, and that she just had a rough exterior. "Um how were her manners this morning when she brought over the bread?" Sasha asked clearly concerned as she cleaned up the table "She acted well enough." Jack lied but it seemed to placate Sasha "Thank goodness." she said then she decided to go out on a limb and asked jack something he did not expect. "If you'd like I could cook for you?" Sasha offered as she thought of ways to get her daughter to meet with such a nice man, and having her deliver food to him every morning would certainly be a good way to do it. Jack was not about to pass up on her cooking, but he couldn't accept it for free so he agreed to it on the condition that she would accept money for the food and her time. "Be sure to stop by again sometime!" Sasha said as she waved goodbye to him and Jack promised that he would.


End file.
